Women's Tennis Hosts Ball State and Detroit

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team will face Ball State at noon and Detroit at 5 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Sunday, Jan. 27. The Spartans are currently 3-0 after defeating Eastern Michigan, 4-3, on Jan. 22.

“We are looking forward to competing again this weekend,” said head coach Simone Jardim. “We have been working hard to make adjustments from our last match and I am confident the changes will show on Sunday.”

Looking BackMSU is 3-0 on the season after edging Eastern Michigan at home and sweeping Dayton and Oakland in their season-opener.

Junior Marina Bohrer owns a 3-0 record on court one after impressively defeating all of her opponents in two sets. At No. 2 and 3, sophomore Catherine Parenteau and junior Olga Chernova own 2-1 records. Making an impression quickly at MSU is freshman Emily Meyers as she continues her seven match winning streak from tournament season. Meyers has picked up wins on courts four and six in duals. In doubles matches, seniors Nicole Herzog and Michaela Silesova are 2-1, recording wins on courts one and two.

Checking on the Cardinals Ball State is 2-0 on the season and will face Milwaukee on Jan. 26, prior to their face off with the Spartans. Last weekend, Ball State defeated IUPUI and Chicago State scoring 6-1 in both matches.

Courtney Wild and Courtney Earnest enter the weekend 2-0 on courts two and three, respectively. Earnest is 8-2 in her last 10 single competitions. Lauren Pickrell and Kristel Sanders paired up to start off the season undefeated along with Courtney Earnes and Ayaka Terashi.

This will be the 19th meeting between Michigan State and Ball State, with MSU leading the series 14-4. Their most recent meeting was a 7-0 win for the Spartans in 2012.

Coaching Ball State is Christine Bader, a former Spartan who recorded the fourth highest winningest singles record (64-62) and second highest overall record (129-127). Bader is in her third season as head coach for the Cardinals.

The Down Low on DetroitDetroit fell to Xavier 5-2 last weekend in their season-opener.

The Titans dominated in doubles, winning on all three courts. Elena Strakhora and Irina Slizovskaya teamed up on court one while Nino Sujashvili and Chloe Karoub saw action at the No. 2 spot. Valeryia Kulikouskaya and Julia Fernandes paired up for a victory on court three. Strakhora posted the only singles win for the Titans in their face off against the Musketeers.

Michigan State owns a 6-0 all-time series record against Detroit and hopes to continue the winning streak. In 2012, the Green and White defeated the Titans 6-1.

Next up The Green and White will take on Cleveland State and Toledo at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Saturday, Feb. 2.